OBITUARY
Rajasthan Governor SK Singh, who is rated among the most distinguished in his
generation of Indian diplomats, died here on Tuesday after a prolonged illness. Mr Singh
(77) was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital on November 5.
He is survived by his wife Manju and two sons Shashank and Kanishka. Kanishka Singh
had quit his job as an investment banker to become Congress General Secretary and
Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi's close political aide. His body was taken to his
residence at New Friends Colony here.
Born on January 24, 1932, Mr Singh was made the Foreign Secretary in February 1989,
capping an illustrious career in the Indian Foreign Service (IFS). He became Governor of
Rajasthan in September 2007 after his predecessor Ms Pratibha Devisingh Patil was
nominated as a candidate for the post of President of India. He was shifted from
Arunachal Pradesh where he assumed the gubernatorial assignment in December 2004.
Mr Singh was India's longest serving envoy to Pakistan between 1985 and 1989. He was
the official spokesman of the Government of India between 1969 and 1974. He was
ambassador to Afghanistan from 1977 to 1979, Additional Foreign Secretary from 1979 to
1982, Ambassador concurrently to Jordan, Lebanon and Cyprus from 1974 to 1977, and
Ambassador to Austria from 1982 to 1985. He was a member of 19 Indian delegations to
the United Nations General Assembly, ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council), and the
Human Rights Commission. He also served as India's governor on the Board of
Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. Mr Singh had
monitored for the Commonwealth and the UN, general elections in South Africa, Kenya,
Algeria, Lesotho, Malawi and Sierra Leone and the presidential election in Sri Lanka. He
taught History at Agra University and was a visiting professor and member of the
Academic Council of Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.
A multi-dimensional personality, he was also a distinguished television commentator.
He contributed articles to many journals and newspapers in India and abroad on
international relations, geopolitics and current developments.
President Pratibha Devisingh Patil condoled the death of Mr Singh. The Government of
Rajasthan has declared seven-day state mourning from Tuesday. The Rajasthan
Government also declared half-day holiday on Tuesday and full-day holiday on
Wednesday as a mark of respect for the late governor.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in his condolence message to Mrs Manju Singh,
described Mr Singh as a very dear friend whose wisdom and knowledge and experience
he was able to draw upon in difficult circumstances.
"[He] served the country as a public servant of distinction in various positions over the
past five decades. He was one of the outstanding Foreign Service officers of his
generation who rose to the post of Foreign Secretary. He served for four years as India's
Ambassador to Pakistan in the late eighties, during a difficult period in our bilateral
relations.
"Shri Singh brought his rich experience of public life and diplomacy to bear on his
gubernatorial assignment in Arunachal Pradesh. In his passing away the country has
lost a senior public servant who was serving the people of Rajasthan with dedication
and commitment at the time of his untimely demise. He was a very dear friend whose
wisdom, knowledge and experience I was able to draw upon in difficult circumstances."
Ambassador Chinmaya Gharekhan (Retd), who served as India's permanent
representative to the United Nations in New York, said that Mr Singh's death was a huge
loss. "He had a great sense of history, enormous experience and memory," he said.
Mr Singh was an outstanding diplomat with a great capacity for making friends and
contacts. "As a young Indian diplomat in the 1960s, Mr Singh was on first name terms
with most ambassadors to the UN. He had good friendly relations with the then UN
Secretary General U Thant too," Mr Gharekhan recalled.
Mr Singh was the person Mr Gharekhan turned to in 1981 when he was asked to join
Prime Minister's Office under Indira Gandhi. "All were in awe of Ms Gandhi and I asked
him for advice. Mr Singh, who was Additional Secretary then, told me: Be yourself, do not
be in awe, and don't try to impress. That was a good and sound advice."
Mr Gharekhan's association with Mr Singh continued when they worked closely on
formulating India's response to Pakistan's proposal of a no-war pact. "Mr Singh and I
discussed how we should respond to the then Pakistani foreign minister Agha Shahi's
proposal. India could not accept that proposal, so we worked on a counter-draft which
Pakistan would not agree to," he said.
Ambassador Kanwal Sibal (Retd), a former foreign secretary, recalled that Mr Singh was
a very good guide for young diplomats like him. "After my first posting in Paris, Mr
Singh, who was the then Joint Secretary (External Publicity), asked me to come back and
join the External Publicity Division under him. He was very encouraging towards young
officers and he steered them in the right direction professionally," Mr Sibal said.
"Mr Singh had leadership qualities and he was good at building personal relations. I
found him very clued up politically and very good at man management. He was one of
the luminaries of the Indian Foreign Service," Mr Sibal added.
-- Ramesh Ramachandran
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